sarahcky

Hi all, my partner and I intend to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle near Fussen and will be coming from the Dolomites (Northern Italy). What would be the best way to travel there via public transport (Car is not an option for us)?

We might do a stop in Innsbruck for a 2 days just to explore the area. After which, should we travel to Fussen via:
(i) Garmisch with a mixture of train and bus; or
(ii) Munich using mostly train.

Our discomfort with option (ii) is that it appears that we are going up North quite a bit to Munich and then coming back down to Fussen.

Also, should we stay in Fussen? I understand it is quite a small town - what might we do there if we stay?

Thanks much!

Adelaidean

Fussen is beautiful. So much more than castles. There's a lovely lake, river, forests, Tegelberg cablecar, lots of great walks. The town has a gorgeous pedestrian only zone.
Train to Garmisch, then Reutte, bus to Fussen, quite a pretty route.

swandav2000

Hi sarahcky,

I agree with Adelaidean that Füssen is a wonderful town. I live in Garmisch, and I think Füssen is prettier and more interesting. Its pedestrian and shopping area is larger than the one in Garmisch, even though its population is smaller. I also found the river and the lake outside town to be beautiful. You can rent bikes in town and ride around the lake.

I personally think the route by bus from Garmisch (via Oberammergau) is prettier than the route via Reutte. Going via Oberammergau, the landscape is more open, with wide views of green rolling hills going off into the distance. Going via Reutte, I saw a narrow valley with big peaks on either side -- just not to my taste.

BTW, if you can't make the umlaut over the "u" (ü), you need to add an "e": Fuessen. That will help you as you research train or bus routes.

You can use the German rail site to see all the routes:

www.bahn.com

Have fun as you plan!

s

neckervd

Fastest connection: bus via Nassereith and Reutte, for example Innsbruck dp 15.37 - Fuessen ar 18.30

neckervd

that gives:
Ortisei dp 12.34 - Klausen 13.18/13.26 - Brenner 14.22/14.33 - Innsbruck 15.11/15.37 - Nassereith 16.40/16.46 - Reutte 17.49/18.05 - Fuessen ar 18.30
or
Ortisei dp 13.34 - Brixen 14.33/15.04 - Munich 18.27/18.51 - Fuessen ar 20.55

sarahcky

Thanks all for the replies. Füssen does sound like a nice quaint town, and I would very much like to stay 1-2 nights there. However, we've checked the timetables and it seems a hassle (involving many changes) to get to Füssen from Innsbruck/the Dolomites.

We are a little resigned to travel up to Munich (just 2hrs train from Innsbruck), and do a day trip to Füssen from there instead. Please let me know if I'm making a grave mistake!

neckervd

Fuessen is a small and insignificant place, oriented towards the neighbouring cities of Kempten, Kaufbeuren, Memmingen (airport!) and Munich. Public transport to these places is good.
There is no demand for journeys from Fuessen to the Dolomites or so. Direct trains or buses on such itineraries would transport 1 or 2 passengers, may be even less.

In order to make such journeys possible nevertheless, timetables of local lines where created in a manner that you can change from one bus to another within a few minutes. At places like Nassereith or Reutte, that means that you have just to jump from bus 1 to bus 2 waiting a few steps away.

If you want to change only twice between Ortisei and Fuessen, you have the following choices:

Ortisei dp 9.31 - Brixen 10.24/11.04 - Munich 14.26/15.51 - Fuessen ar 17.55
resp.
Ortisei dp 14.01 - Brixen 14.56/15.04 - Munich 18.27/19.51 - Fuessen ar 22.00